Theodore Thomas : a musical autobiography . a building suitable for orches-tral purposes. The only hall in which our concertscould be given was the Auditorium — an immensetheatre, with a seating capacity of four or five thou-sand, which had been erected a few years previouslyfor opera festivals, political conventions, and otherlarge popular gatherings. The great size of thistheatre called for the largest possible orchestra, buteven then it was often ineffective, notwithstandingthe remarkable acoustic properties of the also contained so many seats that people felt underno obligation
Theodore Thomas : a musical autobiography . a building suitable for orches-tral purposes. The only hall in which our concertscould be given was the Auditorium — an immensetheatre, with a seating capacity of four or five thou-sand, which had been erected a few years previouslyfor opera festivals, political conventions, and otherlarge popular gatherings. The great size of thistheatre called for the largest possible orchestra, buteven then it was often ineffective, notwithstandingthe remarkable acoustic properties of the also contained so many seats that people felt underno obligation to buy season tickets to our concerts,knowing full well they could always find good placesat the box-office at the last minute, whenever theydesired to attend a performance. Thus our audience,instead of being regular, fluctuated from concert toconcert, according to the weather or any other dis-tracting cause. Our season was also interruptedseveral times a year by the other engagements forwhich the building was rented, such as the opera. HENRI WIENIAWSKI LIFE WORK 103 season, flower show, balls, and the like. This hadthe effect each time of scattering our audience andpreventing people from forming the habit of tegularattendance, as well as of interfering with our re-hearsals, while the preparations for these events werein progress. In other ways the Auditorium was notsuited to our use. A building which is properly equipped for thework of a large permanent concert orchestra shouldcontain, in addition to its stage, audience chamber,and foyers, a large room in which the musicians cantune and prepare their instruments before perform-ances, and a cloak room for the use of the should also have a suitable storage room withlockers in which the instruments can be kept withoutdanger of injury from heat, cold, or dampness, andwhere they will be safe from handling by meddle-some or careless persons. It should have a com-modious library, furnished with clean, closed casesfor
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